The Indiana State sentinel. [volume] (Indianapolis) 1868-1895, 1887-08-31
4 Scheme on the Part Of Republican Clerks
to Damage the Administration.
Errors in Departmental Rsp,rts Fhst Could
Only b. the Rmult Of Design.
A Time When the Official kx Could be Used
to the Best Advantage.
Weather Bulletin Issued by the Signal
August 27.-Crop Summary.

WASHINGTON, August 2S.-There have
been number of significant indications
lately of a widespread conspiracy among
the Republican clerks in the departments
to dsmsge the Democratic administration
under which they are serving. Circum-
stances which have cone to the attention
of the heads of the various important bu-
Ieaus are of kind to suggest that this
conspiracy is of an important and danger
Gus character. There is not public Of
fee in which majority of the clerical
force is not Republican, despite the fact
that the administration has now been
Democratic for more than two years.
These Republican clerks have conducted
themselves in a satisfactory manner
speaking generally-but every considera-
ton of self interest dictated such q course.
1t would have been folly for any Republi-
car clerk to have endangered his hold
way to Justify dismissal. Rocog.
milton of this fact has been q
salutary restraint upon the great body of
Republican clerks, SO that as a rule they
have done their work as efficiently since
the Inauguration OF President Cleveland as
they dio when a Republican president was
in the White House. 1t is unnatural to
suppose, however, that strong Republican
partisan, placed in position because OF his
partisan the moment the political control
of the Federal government changed The
Republicans who remain in the depart
ments are, with very few exceptions, just
as strong and earnest in their political faith
to-day as they were before the election of
Cleveland. In q thousand little ways there
have been evidences of this fact, during
the whole period the Democrats hsve had
charge Of the departments. These evidences
Of restIsint of political feeling have been
simply what everybody expected. and have
not heretofore indicated any concerted de-
sign to damage the administration. Now
that the presidential election is approach
ing sgaiD, however, as already stated, there
are suspicious signs in more than one of
the departments that these Republican
clerks have put their beads together and
combined in a premeditated effort to do
all the ugly work they can.
The time for this kind of work has Just
come. Such clerks as can be persuaded to
undertake dirty Job OF this kindcan now
be persuaded that If caught and exposed
their dismissal would only be temporary.
They are told the Republican party Will
return to power in 1889, and If they are
turned out now because of what they have
done for their party, their reward win Ger
tainly come when the party is again in con-
troll of the Government. The department
reports are all in process of construction
now, the material being collected in each
bureau which has to make up the body Of
the reports in the end. In more than one
cese, Efficient and competent Republican
clerks, 10 whom the duty of compiling sta
tistical matter to be embraced in these re-
ports has been entrusted, have returned
their statements with glaring errors. In
some offices these errors have been re.
pested sgain and again by clerks whose
general competency is certain evidence of
the fact that these errors could only be the
result Cf design.
This thing has happened so often and in
so many different Offices that it has begun
TO attract the attention of Democratic
officislsgeneraliy. They strongly suspect
the purpose is to lead the various officials
into the publication of gross inaccuracies
in their reports which the Republican
campaign orators can afterwards use for
party purposes. OF course there can only
be suspicion that deliberate conspiracy is
at work to compass this end, but the in
dicatlons are so strong that some of the
officials are satisfied the conspiracy is a
reality. Being forewarned, they are fore
armed, however, and there is little chance
the ugly schtme will work out SIS pro-
iected